Set Up Your Camera For Best Field Use

Get the most from your camera by having it dialed in for nature photography

Text And Photography By Rob Sheppard

Labels: Camera Technique, How To

This Article Features Photo Zoom

Have you set up your camera to make it work optimally for you? Have you changed the camera from its default settings? Most photographers make the RAW or JPEG (or both) choice, but since they’re used to film cameras, many don’t realize that there are other important settings that should be changed and adjusted from the way the camera came to you. While you can start using the camera “right out of the box,” most of the time, the default setup isn’t optimum for outdoor photography.

A camera is set up by the manufacturer to work well with everybody and in every condition. The manufacturer does this because of the diversity of photography their customers pursue, but we all know that when you try to please everyone with one solution, few people are truly satisfied. That’s why the camera manufacturer offers controls for you to set.

Often, advanced photographers assume everyone knows these things, too, so they never bring them up in articles, workshops and other presentations. Many of my workshop participants, who all love photography, have never thought about setting up the camera to make it work for them other than choosing RAW or JPEG and leaving the rest at the default settings. This even can apply to advanced amateurs and pros.

So now may be a good time to get back to camera setup basics. Give these tips a try, and make your photography more enjoyable and successful!

Turn Off
Auto ISO
Avoid this setting! It’s important to choose and set a specific ISO for your camera. While it’s true that digital cameras do a very good job over a range of ISO settings, Auto ISO will use the entire range of ISO settings available to the camera. This means that you could be shooting at ISO 1600 when ISO 100 would work. I can guarantee that ISO 100 is a far superior setting in terms of image quality, tonality and color compared to ISO 1600. You need to be able to choose the ISO setting that’s appropriate for your scene and conditions and not be blindsided by the camera choosing a very high ISO setting that will reduce the quality of your image.

Turn Off
Auto Rotate
Auto Rotate changes the orientation of a vertical picture so that it displays in the LCD as a vertical when the camera is held horizontally, i.e., the long side of the vertical is forced to fit in the short side of the now horizontal LCD. This feature also was designed for the casual shooter. A vertical image doesn’t display very well in a horizontal LCD; in fact, over half of your LCD is wasted!

Think about this. Everybody wants bigger and bigger LCDs on the back of the camera, which is great because it allows us to better see our pictures and camera menus. But then a vertical picture shows up and is rotated to fit into the LCD—you’re back to the equivalent of an old camera with a small LCD because the vertical is now so small.

Page 1 of 3

« StartPrev123Next End »

13 Comments

Feed

Professional makes this comment

Saturday, 05 September 2009

Thanks for the article!
michelle makes this comment

Thursday, 02 July 2009

Been pushing that shutter release for 40 some years. Eventually some learn; most never learn. I don't still shoot film because I'm an 'old foggy' but because it is essential that I stay on top of things and not have to resort to cheating with Adobe Photoshop. Same with the different film formats. Digital is *only* used when having to change film rolls would undo the efforts for the day, like shooting a race or some other fast paced event. Want to know more and be better at all of this? Go to a photo school that is at least two years!
Creek makes this comment

Wednesday, 01 July 2009

anything that bogs you down in the field and sucks up energy from the battery and/or takes away from the actual shoot should be looked at-double check your settings-you may be suprised to see what is lagging on your camera settings
Ami makes this comment

Wednesday, 01 July 2009

hey brother, what is ISO? is it something to do with taking pictures outdoors? many thanks.
William O'Connell makes this comment

Monday, 29 June 2009

I never worry about battery-saving techniques while shooting. I either use "8 second" or "hold", depending on what I'm shooting. If your battery gets low, just pop in 1 of your charged extra batteries. No pro goes anywhere without a couple (minimum) of spare camera batteries and cards and at last 1 set of AA's for their strobe, and neither should you. I own 6 extra batteries for my Canons and 3 chargers.
Bob Lurie makes this comment

Sunday, 28 June 2009

I disagree with your recommendation on Auto ISO. On my Nikon 300 ISO sensitivity auto control lets me set the maximum ISO and the minimum shutter speed. Thus in Aperture control I can set the ISO for anything I want (usually 400); but with Auto the maximum is 3200 and the minimum shutter speed is 1/125. Thus when I walk into a temple in Cambodia and the monk is talking to us, I find that without auto control his lips are blurred (non-correctable); but with auto on the ISO, the ISO may go up to 1600 but I still get a non-blurred picture. I find this setting fabulous and it has saved me many times. Sure, if I am using a tripod and am taking the world beating scenic I can easily turn this off or, more likely will still be in the settings that I intended. The amateur on a tour versus a pro with his own time schedule needs different settings.
The Most Interesting Man In The World makes this comment

Friday, 26 June 2009

I don't always drink beer; but when I do, I prefer Dos Equis.
Fujichrome makes this comment

Thursday, 25 June 2009

Digital photography did NOT kill Kodachrome. The far superior Fujichrome Velvia 50 did. Just ask any film pro, such as Art Wolfe. Best of all, Fuji still makes them and sells lots of them to pros today.
Bill Keiter makes this comment

Thursday, 25 June 2009

Camera manufacturers seem to be more into computers than camera operations. A really simple way to be in manual mode without peering through the viewfinder for settings or groping for the right buttons would be a nice manual feature that I bet could be easily part of the multiple program featured modern digital camera and would make picture taking less of a geek experience.
Hagen makes this comment

Thursday, 25 June 2009

Rather than the 8 second preview which seriously wastes power, turn the LCD review off and have the camera turn on the review with an easy to reach button. As you are rotating the camera down to look at the image, just press the button. Image will be ready for your viewing by the time you get it into position to see. Not only do you save power, but you also can review the image for as long as you want. Just push any "shooter" related button to get back.
Michael Perham makes this comment

Wednesday, 24 June 2009

Great article. Very interesting to hear how others set up the optional parameters of their camera and why ...no one has a monopoly on good ideas and this kind of article is very useful in todays world where the options and parameters of digital cameras can be overwhelming.
Ed Ham makes this comment

Tuesday, 23 June 2009

Wow - I just heard about Kodachrome getting shut down. What will happen to this magazine? Maybe they will focus on some digital issues?
Kodachrome makes this comment

Tuesday, 23 June 2009

I got a Nikon Camera. Momma just threw my Kodachrome away.

How-To

Set Up Your Camera For Best Field Use

Get the most from your camera by having it dialed in for nature photography

13 Comments

Add Comment

Recent OP Articles

Popular OP Articles

OP Most Popular Tags